Kaliedescope Eyes
by falling.rain014
Summary: Nepeta Leijon is a junior struggling through life, trying to find a way to make it all worth it in the end. That is, until the new guy, Karkat Vantas, waltzes into her life. Will he change her, or make things worse? Rated T for language, possibly some strong self-hate themes in later chapters. Hope you enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

**Hello, everyone! Welcome to my first fanfiction (yes, the title is a reference to one of my favorite P!AtD songs)! This, of course, is my Homestuck OTP, Nepkat, which I have been wanting to do for SO LONG, YOU HAVE NO IDEA. Anyway, it's finally here, and I'm so excited! Anyway, please enjoy, and if you can, post a review or follow this story. It would make me so happy! All right, story time!**

 _Hey! Wake up!_ Nepeta jerked awake, stifling a groan as she registered the cold pressing against her right cheek. A poke in her ribs jerked her head off the freezing glass of the window she had been sleeping on and to the left to see a boy standing at her seat. He looked irritated at her as she realized what was going on.

"What?" She murmured, forcing her eyes to focus.

The boy let out an exasperated sigh. "I asked if I could sit here, thank you very much. Need I ask again?" Nepeta shook her head, grabbing her stuff occupying the empty space beside her. He seated himself as if he wished he hadn't gone through the trouble of talking to her.

He reached into his book bag, pulled out a packet, and turned to her. "I need to practice my audition for the debate team. Will you listen to my speech?" Without waiting for a reply, he cleared his throat and started speaking. "Hello, I'm Kankri Vantas, and I believe I'd be an astounding addition to the debate team…."

Nepeta, bored already, pulled her earbuds from her backpack and plugged them into her phone. She hit play and focused her attention on the seat in front of her as one of her favorite anthems of loneliness came on. It seems it's going to be a long day.

The boy's, Kankri's, speech had gone for so long, he seemed nowhere close to being done when the bus arrived at school. Nepeta, in the minutes leading up to the vehicle's arrival, had gathered her things together and was now ready to get off. The stop came, and she rose from her spot to hustle off and into the school. But, Kankri blocked her as people shuffled off. Gog, this was getting out of hand. After she managed to squeeze past him, the line was stop-and-go for some time. When she reached the steps, Nepeta hopped off the bus and took a deep breath. Kankri had been hogging all the oxygen on the bus, and it felt nice to actually breathe.

After a few moments passed, a hand landed on her shoulder. This had become natural for Nepeta, for Equius has the tendency to surprise. "Nepeta," he rumbled in greeting.

"Hi, Equius! How's it going?" Nepeta asked, reaching behind the taller one to give him a hug. A small smile began to form on her face. Being around her stepbrother always perked her up.

Ever since they had been just children, Nepeta and Equius had shared a bond, unlike any brother or sister. They had been excited they would actually be living under the same roof, like actual siblings. The pair had older siblings too, who were in college. Meulin was her biological sister while Horuss was Equius' biological brother.

Nepeta and her stepbrother had been through it all, especially an incident that had occurred with a boy who had moved to their school when he had been in 6th grade. Nepeta had been in 7th while Equius had been in 8th. When Equius had moved to the high school, Nepeta had been scared for her life because she was without her sole protector and guardian against the terrorizing child.

When she had moved to the high school as well, Nepeta had developed anxiety and insecurities, was scared of loud noises, and would work by herself in class. She was glad to hang around Equius more, but he had gained some more friends in his first year, who would soon become her friends as well.

She had managed to eek her way through school for three years, but now that all her friends were seniors, she would surely be all alone next year. She hadn't made any effort to at least try and get to know her peers, which would probably have been a good plan, now that she thought about it. But she couldn't try to now… could she?

"See you at lunch, Nepeta," Equius' voice cut through her thoughts, and she looked up from the dirty floor to see his sunglasses-encased face disappearing up the stairs to the second floor.

"Y-yeah…" she responded quietly, looking down the short flight of stairs that led to the ground floor. She took a step, changed her mind, then leaped off the step. Landing on two feet with one hand in the air and one on the floor, Nepeta felt a rush as her body got over the adrenaline. She grinned.

At that moment, a guy shoved past her, nearly knocking her over. Glancing up, she caught a familiar face before it disappeared. Was that… Kankri? How did he change his hair color from ginger to black in the short amount of time before school started? Maybe she was just seeing things.

Whatever. She was going to be late for art.

As the bell rang, Nepeta slid into her seat, breathing heavily. Mrs. Latcroft, the art teacher, eyed her but marked her on time. Nepeta gulped and pulled out her sketchbook and pencils. She didn't bother glancing around, she was sure everyone was watching her. She set her things down and focused on her lap.

Mrs. Latcroft clapped her hands to get the attention of her students. "Class, I am thrilled to announce that your final projects from last semester were simply amazing. I feel quite lucky to be teaching such aspiring artists," Her gaze drifted around the room, resting on a few students. Soon, she came to a stop on a dark-haired, pale-skinned boy. She smiled.

"And with a new semester comes new faces," she began, beckoning him to come to her. He seemed to stiffen, but then he rose to his feet and walked over stiffly. Nepeta notices his fists clenched at his sides as he turned to face the class.

She stared. His eyes were mesmerizing, a blend of copper and amber. His hair stuck up in tufts like he just got out of bed, and was almost black in color. Fluorescent lights reflecting off, however, revealed it was actually dark brown.

"This is Karkat Vantas, and he is from up north. Now, Karkat, the seat you've selected is already taken. I'll pick a seat for you…." Mrs. Latcroft paused as she scanned her seating chart. "Ah, you can sit right there!" She pointed in Nepeta's direction, smiling like she just had the best idea ever.

Silently, Karkat walked to his taken seat, packed his backpack, and stalked over to the seat diagonal from Nepeta. She watched him the whole way.

When Mrs. Latcroft moved on to the next topic, Karkat faced Nepeta and eyed her. "Does she always embarrass her students?" He murmured, voice rasping as if he was exhausted. The bags under his eyes didn't help his appearance. She shrugged, turning her attention to the white board. Nepeta wasn't used to someone being near her, so she slid her sketchbook onto her lap and continued to draw on her charts.

When the shuffle of papers sounded, she looked up at the board and read the instructions. She turned to a new page near the beginning of her sketchbook, set it on the table, and began with a sketch of an eye. A cat eye. It soon advanced to a whole cat face.

"I take it you like cats?" The raspy voice sounded. Looking up, Nepeta saw Karkat observing her work.

"Um… yeah, I do," she said quietly, trying to focus on the body. She heard chair legs squeak and saw movement from the corner of her eye. "Are you going to start?"

Karkat scoffed, meeting her gaze.

"Do you need help?"

"No."

Nepeta clenched her jaw and tried to continue with the white cat.

"Why do you sit alone?"

Nepeta glanced up again. "I, uh, I'm not that good at talking to people, so I just…"

Karkat turned his head to his blank sketchbook. "Clearly."

Taken aback, Nepeta quickly looked down at the cat and tried to focus as she blinked away a couple tears. What was his deal? Did she do something to make him mad? She didn't mean to be so antisocial. It was just her way. If he didn't like it, then he could just… nothing. He didn't have to do anything. She didn't care. Now, she had a cat to finish.

The last two periods had been excruciatingly long, possibly because they were useless classes. Nepeta always would count down the seconds until lunch, and now was no different. She was standing by the door, waiting to get out of this small, stuffy room. Her eyes drifted to the clock on the wall again, searching for the long hand that displayed the seconds remaining. 4...3...2...1…

Nepeta was out the door at the sound of the bell. She hurried down the hall to the lunchroom and to the circular lunch table she sat with her friends at. She always took pride in being first to the lunch table every day, and today was no different. Equius came up with Rose, and he took a seat beside her while Rose headed for the lunch line.

"Nepeta. How was class?" Nepeta was about to answer when she sucked in a breath, watching as Porrim strut in, two boys walking behind her. She already knew who they were, but she was too stunned to say anything.

"Equius, Nepeta, please welcome Kankri and Karkat Vantas to the table," She turned and faced the pair. "Make yourselves at home," She said, turning to walk to the lunch line. Kankri trailed and got into a spot behind her. The two began to talk, moving through the line slowly.

Karkat, on the other hand, slowly walked to one of the empty seats. Nepeta watched him, then began to eat. Equius eyed him with a hard glare.

Karkat met his intense gaze, then shifted his eyes to Nepeta. "Is he always like that?" She clenched her jaw again, recalling his question about their art teacher and how similar it was to this one. She glanced at her lap again, taking a bite of her sandwich.

Equius stiffened, breaking out into a nervous sweat. "What is your year?"

Karkat's piercing gaze didn't leave Nepeta. "Senior."

Equius continued glaring at him, beginning to sweat profusely. Karkat glanced over and wrinkled his nose. "Okay, moving on."

He looked at Nepeta again. "What grade are you in?"

"She's a junior," a cool, female voice replied. Rose seated herself beside Karkat. "She's the baby among us."

Nepeta stared at the table as she took a sip of water. A couple minutes of chewing passed until Porrim and Kankri returned.

"Now that everyone's here…" Porrim said, taking a seat. "We can formally introduce ourselves. We'll go in a circle, starting with me and ending on Kankri. We'll say our name, grade - though it's not necessary - favorite color, siblings, hobbies, pets, weird fetishes, anything worth noting," She paused.

"I'm Porrim Maryam, a senior, dark green. I have a sister who is a junior, and her name is Kanaya. We don't have any pets, but we mostly take care of each other. Dad left, Mom's never home. An enjoyable hobby of mine is to feign 'coolness' or whatever the kids call it, these days. Oh, and I got these piercings sophomore year," she gestured to the gold rings protruding from her eyebrow and bottom lip.

Rose was next. She told the group about her freshman sister, her cat, her alcoholic mom, and her obsession with books and wizards. "Oh, I'm also coming out as bisexual," she added at the end. To be honest, Nepeta had always found Rose to be a bit more peculiar than the rest of her friends.

It was Nepeta's turn, now. She cleared her throat. "Well, um… I'm Nepeta Leijon. I'm a junior and my favorite color is olive green. I have an older sister who is a freshman in college at the moment. My family owns a lot of cats, but you guys don't really seem bothered by it… So, I love to draw, and a hobby of mine is, um…" she paused, glancing at Karkat, and then her hands in her lap. "...shipping. I ship people from here with each other, and if it works out, then I… am just happy fur them," Nepeta started wringing her hands, heart racing as she mentally face palmed. How could she use a cat pun right then?! Maybe she had just been nervous.

Equius had begun afterward while Nepeta attempted to calm herself down, talking about Horuss and their shared adoration of horses. She didn't really listen to the first part, but she noticed after a few minutes he had started rambling. After a couple minutes of getting him back on Earth, Karkat was next.

He actually decided to stand up. "Karkat Vantas. Senior. Gray. Now, prepare to be shocked… Kankri and I are twins. Fraternal," Nepeta shifted her gaze between the two, but he seemed to be irritated now. "All right, stop comparing us. We don't have any pets, and what I do for fun… is boss people around," He plopped back down, arms crossed, and glared at his brother.

Kankri cleared his throat. "Well, as Karkat said, we are fraternal twins…" Sure enough, he launched into a speech about the nature of the type of twins, as well as some fun facts about them.

Karkat, not appearing to care, glanced around the room. Nepeta just watched him, glancing at her lap when he seemed to be looking at her.

It went like this for the rest of lunch, Kankri giving out his opinion on his new colleagues' comments in paragraphs. Everyone pretended to listen in while Karkat observed the people around him and Nepeta observed him.

When the bell rang, Karkat quickly got up and walked off, not saying anything to anyone. Everyone else took their time, but Nepeta was next to leave.

Well, that had been an awkward lunch, especially for her. The arrival of the Vantases had clearly shaken things up. Would it be normal again? Nepeta hoped soon, for she wasn't really the biggest fan of change. At least, Karkat hadn't been too rude at lunch.

Karkat… Nepeta thought of his face, pale and stuck in a permanent scowl. His hair, lopsided like he didn't care (he probably didn't). His eyes, glaring every which way, but sometimes watching her…

As she sat down in her next class, Nepeta took out her sketchbook, turned to her shipping charts, and drew a sketch of herself and the mysterious senior holding hands. It was then she, Nepeta Leijon, knew she was going to fall for Karkat Vantas, and it would most definitely be a disaster.

 **Author's notes will always be down here, and I will answer any questions here as well!**

 **So, now that the first part of the introduction is finished... Who's ready for more?! I am! I'll try updating at least once weekly, and if I have a break from school, twice or three times weekly. I type fast, don't worry! :DD Until next time!**


	2. Chapter 2

**I AM SO SORRY FOR TAKING ABSOLUTELY FOREVER TO FINISH THIS CHAPTER! School and life have been a drag, and I had homework over the summer, there is an endless amount of excuses for something this late(please don't hate me ;-;). But, I finally got it done, so I hope you enjoy! Reviews and follows much appreciated!**

 **Note: I didn't say this in the first chapter, but all characters belong to Andrew Hussie, creator and God of Homestuck. I just manipulate them how I want.**

Well, that had been one heck of an exhausting day. Mentally and emotionally. Nepeta hadn't been able to get Karkat out of her head since lunch, and she was dying to see him. Maybe he would be hanging out where the group usually stood waiting for their rides home. Yeah, that seemed like a good idea. And it wouldn't be suspicious at all. Because she was a part of the group as well.

Upon stepping outside the school, Nepeta noticed a short-haired girl talking with Porrim at the hangout spot. The junior understood this was Kanaya, and that she and her sister usually drove home together.

Besides the short hair, the one of the only differences between the two were Porrim's dyed dark green hair to the younger one's natural, dark chocolate color. They also differed widely in personalities, Porrim being more rebellious and Kanaya more of a straight-A student. Otherwise, they were a lot alike, sharing the same chocolate skin, shape, and eyes.

Porrim turned, waving good-bye to Nepeta, then walked with her sister to her dark green car.

Rose came up next, tailed by none other than Karkat. Nepeta smiled at Rose, but as soon as her eyes met Karkat's, she looked down and willed herself to listen to Rose. "So, how was your last period?"

The blonde looked at her and shrugged. "Eh. Same old boring teacher teaching the same old boring class." Nepeta felt her stomach flutter, confusion blooming in her eyes.

"Your classes didn't switch?" Rose shook her head. Nepeta looked down again. "Efurything got switched around for me, except art…." she murmured, stuffing her hands into her coat pockets.

Rose looked up as her sister began waving to her (more like dancing), so she pulled out her keys. "Later," she said, walking toward her freshman sibling.

Oh, crap… Now it was just her and Karkat. The noise of all the other people melted away as Nepeta focused on how close he was. He was messing around on his phone, occasionally looking up to search for who she assumed to be Kankri. She could feel her heartbeat pounding harder and faster.

The sun was pretty low in the sky, being fall and all, and it cast red-orange rays upon Karkat's features. His eyebrows were furrowed as he began furiously stamping his thumbs into his phone. A small wind blew, brushing his hair slightly. She could see him tense up more and more until suddenly-

"Shit!" Karkat exclaimed, nearly chucking his phone at the cement. Nepeta had jumped when he shouted, but she fought the urge to look at him. She failed, feeling heat rise to her cheeks, and ducked her head down.

Karkat gave her a wary look. "What?" Realizing too late he had been talking to her, Nepeta stared at him wide-eyed. "N-Nothing! You just… scared me, that's all." She unconsciously lowered her voice as she continued talking, the last words being a mumble. She looked down again, unable to meet his intense copper gaze.

Karkat continued to watch at her. "Why do you always talk like that?"

Nepeta lifted her head slightly. "Um… like what?"

"Those puns."

"Cat puns?" He nodded.

Nepeta rose her head a bit more, somewhat looking Karkat in the eye now. "Oh, well, efuryone in my family uses them. When we talk, I mean, so I guess it kind of caught on. You know, like how you learn things as a kid from your purroundings," she replied, beginning to feel a bit more at ease. Still awkward, but not as much as before. But as she talked, she began to realize how silly the puns were, considering she was a junior. "I'll stop using them if it bugs you," Nepeta said after a brief pause, lowering her eyes a bit.

Karkat stuffed his phone in his pocket before looking at her with that sideways glance he had mastered. "Don't. Keep using them if they're such an important part of you. Don't change for anyone." She lifted her head fully then, allowing herself to gaze into his eyes again. She didn't know for certain if what he said was supposed to be derogatory or not. He stared back, brows furrowing more as he awaited an answer.

"Okay," Nepeta replied, feeling a smile tug at her mouth. Karkat nodded, fighting back a smile. A little showed, however, and her heart fluttered.

"Nepeta. Ready to leave?" Equius' voice sounded as if she were in a bubble and he was outside of it. She nodded. He began walking to his truck, and Nepeta hopped into the passenger seat. Her step brother started his beast of a vehicle, and began to drive through the slow traffic of the parking lot.

As they turned onto the main road, Nepeta waved her hand slightly in farewell to Karkat. He hesitated, but waved back. The last thing she saw of him was his eyes before disappearing behind a fence.

* * *

As soon as Equius parked, Nepeta jumped out and dashed inside. She tossed her backpack against the kitchen island and was greeted by her mother, Penelope, squeezing her. "How was school today, kitten?"

"Boring, purr usual. But, there's some new people at school now!"

"Yes, but one of them is a vile, pathetic excuse of a senior," Equius's voice sounded. Nepeta widened her eyes and stared at him.

"Which one?"

Equius scoffed, dropping his keys on the hook. "Karkat, obviously."

Nepeta stomach dropped. "How do you know?"

He turned his head to look her. "I had him fifth period. He swore every other sentence, didn't get any work done, and was generally disrespectful."

If she had cat ears, Nepeta was sure they would be flattening. "Oh.…" she murmured. "I thought he was nice…."

Silence ensued afterward, and Penelope looked between them. "What would you two like to eat?"

"I'm not hungry," Nepeta said immediately, turning to grab her backpack and head upstairs. She brushed past Equius and felt his eyes on her until she turned the corner to the staircase.

Gosh, of all people. Of all people, Equius could disapprove. Of all the people Nepeta could have developed an infatuation for.

Pushing open her door, she set down her backpack and crawled into bed. Thank goodness she didn't have any homework tonight. Pulling up her laptop, she began messing around with it so she looked like she was doing homework to anyone who walked in.

Hours passed quickly, and it was soon almost 6. The sun no longer peeked through her curtains, but Nepeta didn't want to get up from her bed and turn on the lights.

A few minutes later, Penelope cracked open her door. "Nepeta, kitten? Dinner's almost ready. Why don't you come down?"

Nodding, Nepeta closed her computer and climbed out of bed. She walked out, her mom closing the door behind her. As they descended down the stairs, she could hear the deep voices of Equius and his father conversing.

Aurthor, Nepeta's stepfather, continued talking with Equius while she and her mother took their seats at the dinner table. Penelope reached for her husband's hand, and he immediately turned his attention to her. "Yes, dear?"

Nepeta was staring at her plate of food, using her fork to mess around with it lazily. She took a few bites here and there. She was sort-of listening to her parents' conversation, but was more focused on a certain boy. She had been staring off into space for a few minutes when she finally snapped out of her daze. A confused Nepeta looked over to her parents. "I'm sorry, what?"

Something flashed in her mother's eyes. "We were asking how school was today, kitten," she repeated.

Nepeta cocked her head to the side slightly. "I thought I told you already…." she muttered, mostly to herself.

Penelope nodded. "You did, but is there anything specific? Can you tell us more about this Karkat?"

At the mention of his name, Nepeta felt her face begin to burn. She bit the inside of her cheek. "Well-"

Equius cut her off. "He is a senior, but I believe he should be a junior. He hasn't done any work as far as I can tell, and he is always on his phone or-." Aurthor held up his the palm of his hand for silence, and looked his son in the eye.

"Equius, we were asking Nepeta. Please let her speak."

Nepeta gulped. "Um, like Equius said, he's a senior, and he has a twin brother named Kankri. His favorite color is gray and he doesn't have any pets." She looked away from her stepfather's intense gaze to her dinner, pretty sure she was pink in the face.

Nepeta could feel three pairs of eyes on her, but remained focused on her still-full plate. "May I be excused? I'm not hungry, and I have a lot of homework to finish." She didn't wait for a response, sliding from her seat and walking away as quickly as she could.

Once she was up the stairs and in her room, door closed, Nepeta climbed back in bed with her laptop in hand. She continued her adventures on the Internet, but was unable to focus most of the time. Her mind was still at the dinner table. Was leaving like that a good idea? They would probably wonder now. What if her mom came up and tried to talk to her? Or even worse, Equius? What would they say? How would Nepeta answer?

Her thoughts were interrupted with her growling stomach. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and swallowed.

Then, Nepeta heard her door creak open. She looked up to see who is was, afraid it might be Equius. The figure reached out a hand and flicked on the light switch, washing her room in a warm yellow light. The teen felt her shoulders relax when it was just her mom.

Penelope walked in, closing the door behind her, and sitting on the end of her daughter's bed. "Kitten… is there something you want to talk about?"

Nepeta shook her head, not wanting to speak. She watched her mom inch closer to her, reach out a hand, close her laptop, and move it to the floor. Then, Penelope crawled over and got under the covers, lifting the blankets as an invitation.

Nepeta, unable to resist, burrowed herself underneath them. She curled next to her mom, wrapping her arms around her, as Penelope began running her fingers soothingly through Nepeta's short, mane-like hair.

Already exhausted, Nepeta let her eyes slide shut. She fell asleep like that, held in her mother's warm embrace.

After an hour or so, Penelope slowly and carefully slid off Nepeta's bed without waking her. Then, she walked to the door, turned off the lights, and glanced back at her slumbering kitten one last time before silently closing the door.

 **Welp, there you have it! A few notes...**

 **I hope you like Pounce's pet name for Nepeta, I really do ^^**

 **I promise I will try and update more often, hopefully this next chapter will be up sooner rather than later. It's a special rare kind of chapter, don't miss it!**

 **Thank you so much for reading, once again, reviews, favorites, and follows are greatly appreciated, as they fuel my writing being. Until next time!**


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